Funny Looks
by Madpadz
Summary: She knew what she had signed up for. A look into Harley's first time at Arkham as a patient. Short one-shot, Joker/Harley.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harley, the Joker, or Joan Leland. They are all DC's, sadly.

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They always gave her funny looks.

But they weren't just funny looks. They were mostly looks of pity.

Pity. The word disgusted her.

The first time she had seen it was when she was in Arkham for the first time. Well, the first time as a patient.

She had been sitting in her cell, swinging her feet off the edge of the bed. She pulled her fingers through her hair; she never wore it down much anymore, but the orderlies took out her pigtails right when she had arrived. She hated them for it. Mr. J liked her hair that way. When she had first worn it that way, it was only to experiment. She had been so _professional _for the past few years of her life; wearing her hair in a sleek bun, or elegantly curled. So boring. So _normal_. So she chose the least elegant and least professional hairstyle there was: pigtails.

She had stood in the mirror, scrutinizing the image that was reflected in it. She jumped when He walked in. He studied her and she watched him, hoping for a good reaction. He smiled darkly.

"_Cute_ little Harley," He purred next to her ear. "Not gymnast Harleen, not prissy Doctor Quinzel, but cute little…" He looked at her reflection once more, "Harley Quinn."

She had smiled, pleased with herself. Pleased because she had pleased Him.

In Arkham, they were telling her that it _wasn't right _to please Him. He was a criminal, they said. He was awful and abusive, they kept saying, and that he was only using her. If only they knew. They had shared moments together.

_You've seen him cry, Harley, _she kept telling herself. _Who else can say that they've seen the Joker cry?_

No one. Of that she was sure.

In came the guards, escorting her to the room where Doctor Joan Leland would attempt to fix her broken mind. But she knew she wasn't broken. She had simply found a purpose. She would forever serve that purpose, even if it killed her.

They sat her down in Leland's office. She stared at the doctor who she used to call a friend.

"Harleen," Dr. Leland began, "how are you doing?"

She laughed quietly. How was she doing? She was locked up in an asylum with a bunch of other crazies, and had been forced to wear a straightjacket for the first two days she was here.

Dr. Leland leaned forward, as if to reach out to her, but stopped abruptly.

"Harleen," Leland repeated quietly, "talk to me. Please."

"My name," she said almost inaudibly, "is Harley."

"I'm sorry?" The twit hadn't heard her.

"I said, my name is Harley. My name is Harley, and if you call me Harleen one more time, I may take the pen you are holding and stab you in the eye with it."

Dr. Leland looked taken aback. Of course she did. This wasn't the good little Harleen she knew!

There was a long silence. The room seemed to grow stuffy.

"Why, Harley?" Leland finally asked after several minutes. Harley knew exactly what she meant.

"Because I love him." The doctor looked like she might cry. She signaled for the guards.

"I think that's enough for today."

"I've only been here for ten minutes."

Silence filled the room once more as the guards pulled her out of the chair and toward the door. As she looked back, she saw the look on Dr. Leland's face. Pity.

"I'm sorry, Harley." She stared at Leland softly.

"I'm not."

As she was dragged back to her cell, she thought about the look Joan gave her. She knew exactly what she had gotten herself into. She hadn't been manipulated, she hadn't been blinded by affection. He never showed her affection until after they had left together. She had just found her meaning, plain and simple. She didn't need Joan's pity. She didn't need anyone's pity. She knew what she had signed up for from the very beginning.

The people who gave her funny looks didn't bother her.

She knew they just didn't get the joke.

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**A/N**: Hello people! This is my second go at a Joker/Harley fic. Not much Joker in this one, so if you were expecting a lot of him, I am sorry. I wrote this mainly to celebrate the one year anniversary of The Dark Knight (can you believe that? A year?!). Personally, to keep myself going I watch The Joker Blogs. He is brilliant, definitely the best HeathJoker impression I have ever seen. Go look them up on youtube when you get the time.

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